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How Many Fish?
by Dick Wilson
Do You Know?
We all know that the world’s oceans are very big and that they contain many different kinds of fish and other creatures. Do you know how many different kinds of fish live in the ocean?
What? You don’t know? Well, neither do I, and neither does anyone else, including the scientists.
Even the ichthyologists — that’s what we call the scientists who study fish — disagree on the number. But they all agree that there are at least 24,000 different species, with new species discovered all the time. As much as 97 percent of all life on earth lives in the oceans.
It’s a Big Ocean
It’s hard for us to even imagine how large the ocean is. Look at a globe and make note of how much of the world is covered by water. You see that the ocean covers most of the surface. Now, consider that fish live in all of the ocean, from its very deepest (seven miles down) up to the surface. Water conditions — temperature, pressure, currents — are different at every level, so each kind of fish lives at the level that suits it best. To learn about every species, scientists would have to catch a fish from every part of the ocean. That’s hard to do!
Chesapeake Bay
Finally, look at the globe again and find our Chesapeake Bay. Notice how small it is in comparison to the rest of the ocean. However, many different kinds of fish live in the Bay, and we know them very well. Maryland Department of Natural Resources has identified more than 100 different fish species from our Bay and more are discovered all of the time (See Bay Weekly, Nov. 21 Vol. X, No. 47, “Who Knows What’s Out There?”).
Down By The Bay
by Dick Wilson
How many fish in the Bay? Mrs. Maggie Pike can answer that question as well as anyone can.
An art teacher at Windy Hill Elementary School, Mrs. Pike is known for the imaginative, skillful displays she constructs with her students. Last year’s was a rainforest exhibit.
This year’s display celebrated the school’s Fall Festival. The exhibit — Down By The Bay — filled an entire classroom with realistic examples of creatures that live in and on our Chesapeake Bay. All 700 Windy Hill students joined with Mrs. Pike in forming sea creatures from papier-mache, a mixture of plaster, recycled paper and plastic.
The students worked with Mrs. Pike to make three-dimensional reproductions of not only the common fish in the Bay, such as rockfish and flounder, but also many other sea and shore creatures, including sharks, rays, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, jellyfish (floating above the seabed), sea horses, starfish, horseshoe crabs, turtles, snakes, barnacles and eels. Ducks and seagulls swam on the surface and also soared aloft into the sky. To complete the scene, the Drum Point Lighthouse towered in the distance, two boaters crabbed from a rowboat and two fishermen sat on a pier. What a wonderful way to show the life in and around our part of the ocean.
Kids Stuff
 Thursday, November 28
Happy Thanksgiving
Gather with your friends and family to give thanks and enjoy one another’s company.
Friday, November 29
Christmas on the Square
Begin celebrating Christmas in classic small-town style at the Leonardtown square. Join in the festivities with sleigh rides, a parade, Santa Claus, Christmas carols, the Festival of Trees and a live nativity scene. 5-9pm @ town square, Leonardtown, in St. Marys county:
301/475-9791.
Calvert Festival of Trees
The 14th annual Calvert Festival of Trees features the Hospice Memorial Tree and lush Poinsettia Tree, Santa’s Secret Shop for kids and meals with Santa. 7-9pm today, 9am-9pm Sa; 10am-6pm Su @ Patuxent High, Lusby. $4 w/age discounts: 410/535-0892.
 Saturday, November 30
Santa at Harbour Center
Visit with Santa and friends, get a free horse-drawn carriage ride and create crafts. Noon-3pm @ Annapolis Harbour Center: 410/266-5857.
Sunday, December 1
Christmas Parade
Enjoy wonderful floats, school bands and of course, Santa Claus, in the 29th annual Calvert Christmas Parade. Come out early to grab the best viewing spot along the main drag. 2pm (Rain date Dec. 8) @ Fox Run Shopping Center, Prince Frederick: 410/535-0026.
Copyright 2002
Bay Weekly
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